Changes That Came about during the Progressive Era in the U.S.

Progressive DBQ At the start of the 20th century, the United States were experiencing many changes in the ways that their economics and politics operated. After the Civil War, Restoration, and the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era was a time the United States could establish the principles of the country and begin to build what America is today,. With large monopolies running the nation's economy, such as those run by J.P. Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt, many people sought Reformation and wanted to fix the problems of the country. The reformers, or Progressives, wanted to fix the corruption in the government, trusts, poor living and working conditions, and morals in the country. They also fought for conservation of forests, and the rights of blacks, women, and immigrants. The Progressives brought reformation to a national level. The efforts they made lasted nearly twenty years, and came with many successes and limitations. There were many successes that came with reformation in the areas of industry. Muckrakers used McClure’s, a magazine, to expose the evils of society with journalism. Muckrakers included, Ida Tarbell, who targeted standard oil, Thomas Nast, who went after Boss Tweed, Jacob Ries,who sought help for immigrants, and Upton Sinclair whose descriptive passage on the meatpacking industry called, “The Jungle” exposed many horrors and allowed inspection. It was found that meat scraps were being shoveled from dirty floors into machines for chopping, and this was a way of gathering dirt, splinters, floor filth, and the diseases of the workers (Document B). The father of the Muckrakers was Lincoln Steffen, who targeted the government as a whole. Along with this there was also false advertising in industry and false food and drug labels. When muckrakers brought this to peoples attention a Pure Food and Drug Act was passed to prevent any more deceiving products in industry. Some other issues that Progressives tried to eliminate were working